How to help your favorite Indie

Independent authors are a different breed of people. Usually they have a stick-to-itness that others don't, and they develop a thick skin. They are the DIY'ers of the writing industry, and are not afraid to take a new challenge head on. Whether that challenge is writing the actual book, or wading into the murky waters that is social media to promote their books and build their "brand" (whatever that means *snort*).

But no matter how outgoing, or stubborn an "Indie" is, they still need people to help them in both large and small ways. Below are some of the ways that friends and family are able to help their favorite "Indie" out in the process.

1. Be a listening ear/sounding board. Because we, the authors, spend so much time in our own heads, it is helpful to bounce ideas off of someone who doesn't know the whole story. We can gauge your reactions and impressions, and then adjust accordingly. (Or maybe we just need a break from typing our fingers off!)


2. Provide coffee (or their preferred mode of caffeine/inspiration fuel). We do accept gift cards! ;)


3. Ask us how the writing is going. I know, I know, we may groan and moan, but we will love and appreciate that you are taking an interest in not only our interest, but often times writing stories is our passion. Even the most reclusive introvert will talk your ear off about their writing if you take the time to ask.


4. Once the book is out, buy a copy! Better than that, ask us to sign the inside, and then read it and let us know what you thought. Writers love to hear what people reading their books think. We usually start out writing for ourselves, but it is nice to know how others reading it are responding to the characters and plot that we've created.


5. Once you've read said book, leave a review. Leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, your own facebook/social media. THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST HELPFUL THING TO AN INDIE. Shout out that you loved this book to everyone!
Independent authors do not have a media team behind them like the traditionally published books do. They need every bit of help they can get to promote their work.
Even writing a one line review and leaving a star rating helps. This increases visibility, and also encourages potential readers that the story is worthwhile.


6. Never grumble about the price of the book. An Indie author pays for everything upfront out of pocket, usually funded by a day job they would rather not have, just to make ends meet.



Writing a book is hard, editing a book is hard, promoting a book is hard. Be kind, and help out the Indie authors you know. You are helping them live their dream, and isn't that something worthwhile to support?

So You Want to Write a Book? Pt 4

The very last question/topic for this series is almost the most important one, and the one I hear most frequently.


"How do you get started?"


This is both the simplest and most difficult to answer. It's like answering the existential question of "What does life mean?" There are numerous answers to both, and yet there is only one correct answer for each person.


Every person starts on this journey differently. Some will have similar paths, and some will have very convoluted steps.


But the most simple answer I can give is: just start wherever you are. If you feel like writing on the train, in the car, at the office. Grab some paper, or even your phone. And just start. Sometimes your characters will bug you until you write their stories. Others, you'll need to pursue and convince them their story is worth sharing. But the whole issue boils down to one thing.


You have to tell your inner editor, that naysayer, to shut up and take a back seat.


All the doubts, and negative thoughts telling you that your writing will suck, that no one would want to read your books, that people will hate your writing. Take those thoughts, bundle 'em up nice and tight with duct tape, and ship them off to the artic. Or Sibera, whichever is cheaper for your selected transit company.


You have to get those out of your head. Or even better, use them as fuel. Tell yourself that you're going to write despite or in spite of those negative thoughts. And if it's a person telling you those things? Cut them out. You or anyone else who is thinking of being creative definitely don't need that kind of negativity in your lives.


This is why I love what NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo stands for. It's just literary abandon at its finest. AND you have a group of like minded people surrounding, and supporting, your writing. Whether you make the 50K or you only write 10K. You did something that most people would never dream of doing: getting started.


So start today. Maybe just an outline. Maybe a character sketch. Maybe a piece of dialogue. Maybe an entire chapter.
Whatever it is, just start.


I'll just be over here cheering you on.

Tools of the Trade

There are many tools that writers utilize during the process of creating a book.
They can range from reference books, a library, a person, the software used to plan or write the book, hard materials such as notebooks/pens/notecards, to online resources like Pinterest and baby name websites.


In this blog post I'd like to talk about one that I have recently, really begun using more. That is the App, or website known as Pinterest.
Now, I have been a Pinterest user for several years; it definitely started after I got my first iPhone. At first I used it for the usual things like, jokes, cat memes, planting advice, house ideas, writing advice for both during NaNo and writing in general. (There's seriously tons on my boards, and it would take way too long to list everything!)


Then I found the geek tab, and I added more boards all about Lord of the Rings, Supernatural, House, Castle etc. From that board I started finding interesting fantasy posts and pictures. Any writing advice got pinned to the writing boards, but what was I to do with these inspiring and cool pictures that sparked my imagination? Well, create a board called "Inspiration"!


This "Inspiration" board has become a catch-all for anything that sparks my imagination, or reference materials for books. You will find things that range from types of weapons and armor, to plants and their medicinal (or poision) uses. From reference pictures of characters and clothing to snippets of dialogue or listings of medieval jobs. Anything that catches my attention goes in.


Later, or even if I know right away where that particular piece fits, I either add it to an existing board, or I create a new one. So now not only do I have an "Inspiration" board, but also a board for my first trilogy, "Incalescent", and for the romance trilogy I'm working on that's set in Ireland, "Irish Romance".


Lately I've been using it to save images of characters for a middle grade/young adult Christian Fantasy I've had brewing in the back of my mind. Which is a little odd. Before this I never actively searched for character references. But I have found that this is helping to solidify the characters and their traits more in my mind.


Have you used Pinterest before in your writing process? If you have, I'd love to hear about it!

Comparison

One of my favorite quotes is "Comparison is the thief of joy." And almost nothing is more true than that when it comes to writing and the publishing industry.


It's almost easy to go along and believe that your books are something special, that they are one of a kind, and that you can't wait to have lots of readers who will feel the same right out of the starting gates. That you'll be receiving fan mail full of praise, fan art, and all positive reviews on Good Reads and Amazon. Your Twitter, Instagram, and blog will flood overnight with subscribers.


Sadly, for the majority of authors, this does not happen overnight. Or even ever. Not all of us can be the next J.K. Rowling, Diana Gabaldon, Nora Roberts, or Stephen King. And even those writers went through periods of doubt, and low readership.


You cannot allow the negative thoughts and feelings to creep in. And if they do get around your barriers? You flush them out as fast and as hard as you can. If you don't doubt will crawl in and make a home. Often this influences every part of an author's life, not just their writing. But most definitely their writing will suffer as a result.


It can be hard to see someone selling well, and their readership climbing via social media. It can be disheartening to take your books and attend an author event only to see tables/booths that are teaming with people, and making sales all day.


I know it's hard, but try to remain positive. Instead of whining and making yourself miserable, ask yourse;f "What can I learn? How can I *insert topic here* better?" (Examples, are Market, Write faster, Set up a booth etc) Then analyze what the people are doing. Are they blogging more? Are they more active on social media? Do they set up more giveaways and promotions? The list is almost endless and can be tailored specifically to your situation.


We're writers! We steal ideas and then change them to fit us. This is just another instance of this. Yes, it is disheartening. Yes, it is difficult. But isn't your writing worth it? Aren't you worth it?


And so what if you only have a small reader base? As long as they're loyal, love your characters, and believe in you, that's all that matters!




Keep your heads up, and your fingers busy typing (or writing long hand), I believe in you.